Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul's decoy, Mark Boone Junior as Arnold Flass, Linus Roache as Thomas Wayne and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Batman Begins was released June 15, 2005, in the United States. Batman Begins proved to be successful, and a sequel titled The Dark Knight was commissioned for a 2008 release with both Nolan and Bale returning. A third film, The Dark Knight Rises, was released in 2012. Plot Prologue As a young boy of 8, Bruce Wayne falls down a well, where he is caught in a swarm of bats. Bruce is rescued by his father Thomas, but he is left with a fear of bats. When Bruce and his parents attend the opera Mefistofele, Bruce is frightened by the portrayals of bat-like demons in the performance. He and his parents exit into an alley, where they are confronted by an armed mugger, Joe Chill, who shoots and kills Bruce's parents. Chill is arrested and convicted for the double murder, but Bruce is left traumatized by the incident. The family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, raises Bruce in the absence of his parents. Oppression When Bruce becomes a young man, he returns home to Gotham City from Princeton University, intent on killing Joe Chill, whose prison sentence is being suspended in exchange for testifying against the mob boss Carmine Falcone. Chill is assassinated by one of Falcone's henchmen, depriving Bruce of his opportunity. When Bruce tells his childhood friend Rachel Dawes about his foiled plan, she expresses disgust and gives him a lecture of the difference between justice and revenge. Realizing she is right, Bruce decides to confront Falcone himself, but the mob boss dismisses him as ignorant of nature of the underworld (Saying, "You're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham--you'd have to go a thousand miles to find someone who doesn't know your name!"), having his thugs rough him up. Realizing that Falcone is right and that he cannot truly understand what he intends to fight as a wealthy playboy, he abandons his life at home, stowing away on a cargo ship and traveling the world for nearly seven years. Bhutan He associates with criminals to learn their ways and is thrown in prison by police in China for theft, ironically of Wayne Enterprises property. After a prison brawl, an enigmatic man who identifies himself as Henri Ducard invites Bruce to join an elite vigilante group, the League of Shadows, under the leadership of Ra's al Ghul. Bruce is freed the next day and travels to the top of a mountain to begin his combat training with the League. In his training, Bruce overcomes his fear of bats while under the hallucinogenic influence of a mountainside blue flower. Following his training, Bruce will lead the League in its fight to restore order to Gotham. When Ducard orders Bruce to execute a murderer as a final test, Bruce refuses to obey and destroys the League's headquarters, killing Ra's in the process. However, Bruce rescues an unconscious Ducard from the wreckage and leaves his mentor at a nearby village. Bruce Wayne 20 years after Bruce's parents' death, Bruce Wayne returns to a Gotham City that is mostly ruled by Falcone and begins plotting a one-man war against the corrupt system. He seeks the help of Rachel, now an assistant district attorney, and police sergeant Jim Gordon, who consoled him in the aftermath of his parents' murder. Bruce pays a visit to Gordon one night in disguise to establish communication. After reestablishing his connections to his father's company, Wayne Enterprises, Bruce is able to acquire, with the help of former board member Lucius Fox, a prototype armored car and an experimental armored suit. He augments the suit with League of Shadows armor and a special cape that can become a rudimentary hang glider. Arkham Asylum One night, in his new costume, he disrupts a drug shipment by Falcone and leaves the mob boss tied to a searchlight, forming a makeshift Bat-Signal. He also disrupts an assassination attempt on Dawes, leaving her with evidence against a judge that has gone soft on Falcone in the past. While investigating the "unusual" drugs in the shipment, Batman is stunned by Dr. Jonathan Crane ("The Scarecrow"), who sprays him with a powerful hallucinogen. Bruce is rescued by Alfred, administered an anti-toxin developed by Fox and awakens two days later on his thirtieth birthday. Crane later poisons Rachel after showing her that the toxin, which is revealed to only be harmful in vapor form, is being piped into Gotham's water supply. She is saved by Batman. The police enter the asylum, and Batman escapes with Rachel in his Batmobile. After administering the antidote to Rachel in his cave, he gives her two vials of it for Gordon; one for the detective to inoculate himself, and another to mass produce for the city's population. Depression Later at a party held at his mansion, Bruce is confronted by a group of ninjas from the League of Shadows and his old mentor Ducard, who then reveals himself to be the real Ra's al Ghul, the former who died being a decoy. Ra's, who had been conspiring with Crane the entire time, plans to destroy Gotham by distributing the toxin (which was extracted from his blue flowers) undetected via Gotham's water supply, and then vaporize it with a microwave emitter stolen from Wayne Enterprises. Bruce, tricking his guests into leaving, fights briefly with Ra's while the League of Shadows set fire to Wayne Manor. Bruce escapes the inferno with Alfred's help just as the manor is destroyed. Escalation Batman arrives at the "Narrows" section of Gotham to aid the police, who are engaged in battle with psychotic criminals set free from Arkham Asylum by the League. After saving Rachel, and intimating his identity to her, he leaves Gordon in control of the Batmobile to stop the elevated train that is being used to transport the vaporizer to the city's central water hub. Batman battles Ra's, then escapes just as Gordon topples the elevated line using the Batmobile's missiles, leaving Ra's to crash with the train to the ground. Epilogue Following the battle, Batman becomes a public hero. Bruce gains control of Wayne Enterprises and installs Fox as CEO, firing Earle. However, he is unable to hold onto Rachel, who cannot reconcile her love for Bruce Wayne with his dual life as Batman. Gordon, newly promoted to lieutenant, unveils a Bat-Signal for Batman and mentions a new criminal that, like Batman, has "a taste for the theatrical", leaving a Joker playing card at his crime scenes. Batman promises to investigate and Gordon mentions that he forgot to thank Batman for his efforts. Batman replies by saying that he'll never have to as he takes off into the night. Rating Batman Begins received a PG-13 rating for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements by the MPAA. The film is rated 12 by the BBFC for moderate horror and violence. Cast *Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman **Gus Lewis as Bruce Wayne (age 8) *Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth *Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul *Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes **Emma Lockhart as Rachel Dawes (age 8) *Gary Oldman as Det. Sgt. Jim Gordon *Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow *Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone *Rutger Hauer as William Earle *Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul (Decoy) *Mark Boone Junior as Det. Arnold Flass *Linus Roache as Thomas Wayne *Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox *Larry Holden as Carl Finch *Gerard Murphy as Judge Juez Faden *Colin McFarlane as Comm. Gillian Loeb *Sara Stewart as Martha Wayne *Richard Brake as Joe Chill *Rade Sherbedgia as Homeless Man *Christine Adams as Jessica *Catherine Porter as Blonde Female Reporter/Assassin *John Nolan as Douglas Fredericks *Karen David as Courthouse Reporter #1 *Jonathan D. Ellis as Courthouse Reporter #2 *Tamer Hassan as Faden's Limo Driver *Ronan Leahy as Uniformed Policeman #1 *Vincent Wong as Old Asian Prisoner *Tom Wu as Bhutanese Prison Guard #1 *Mark Chiu as Bhutanese Prison Guard #2 *Turbo Kong as Enormous Prisoner *Stuart Ong as Chinese Police Officer *Chike Chan as Chinese Police Officer *Tenzin Clive Ball as Suti (as "Himalayan Child") *Tenzin Gyurme as Old Himalayan Man *Jamie Cho as Stocky *David Murray as Jimmy *John Kazek as Bigger *Darragh Kelly as Alfie *Adam Kirley as Steiss *Patrick Nolan as Dock Cop #1 *Joseph Rye as Dock Cop #2 *Kwaku Ankomah as Dock Cop #3 *Jo Martin as Police Prison Official *Charles Edwards as Barry McFarland *Lucy Russell as Female Restaurant Guest *Tim Deenihan as Male Restaurant Guest *David Bedella as Maitre D *Flavia Masetto as Kiki *Emily Steven-Daly as Soozey *Martin McDougall as Gotham Dock Employee *TJ Ramini as Scarecrow Thug #1 *Kieran Hurley as Scarecrow Thug #2 *Noah Lee Margetts as Scarecrow Thug #3 *Joe Hanley as Scarecrow Thug #4 *Karl Shiels as Scarecrow Thug #5 *Roger Griffiths as Arkham Uniformed Policeman *Stephen Walters as Arkham Lunatic *Richard Laing as Arkham Chase Cop *Matt Miller as Gotham Car Cop #3 *Risteard Cooper as Captain Simonson *Shane Rimmer as Older Gotham Water Board Technician *Jeremy Theobald as Younger Gotham Water Board Technician *Alexandra Bastedo as Gotham Society Dame *Soo Hee Ding as Farmer *Con Horgan as Monorail Driver *Phill Curr as Transit Cop *Jack Gleeson as Little Boy *John Judd as Narrows Bridge Cop *Sarah Wateridge as Mrs. Dawes *Charlie Kranz as Basement Club Manager *Terry McMahon as Bad SWAT Cop #1 *Cedric Young as Liquor Store Owner *Tim Booth as Victor Zsasz *Tom Nolan as Valet *Leon Delroy Williams as Pedestrian *Roger Yuan as Hazmat Technician *Joe Sargent as Narrows Teenager #1 *Emmanuel Idowu as Narrows Teenager #2 *Mel Taylor as Narrows Resident *Ilyssa Fradin as Barbara Gordon *Andrew Pleavin as Uniformed Policeman #2 *Jeff Christian as Driving Cop *John Burke as Arkham Lunatic Cell Mate *Earlene Bentley as Arkham Asylum Nurse *Alex Moggridge as Arkham Asylum Orderly *Jay Buozzi as Ra's al Ghul's second decoy *Jordan Shaw as African Boy in Rags *Omar Mostafa as Falafel Stand Vendor *Patrick Pond as Opera Performer #1 (Bass) *Poppy Tierney as Opera Performer #2 Margaret (Soprano) *Rory Campbell as Opera Performer #3 Mefistofele (Tenor) *Fabio Cardascia as Caterer *Spencer Wilding as League of Shadows Warrior *Mark Smith as League of Shadows Warrior *Khan Bonfils as League of Shadows Warrior *Dave Legeno as League of Shadows Warrior *Ruben Halse as League of Shadows Warrior *Rodney Ryan as League of Shadows Warrior *Dominic Burgess as Narrows Cop *Nadia Cameron-Blakey as Additional Restaurant Guest #1 *Mark Straker as Male Restaurant Guest #2 *Jeff Tanner as Bridge Cop *Philip Harvey as Zsasz's attorney (uncredited) Organizations *Wayne Enterprises *Gotham City Police Department *League of Shadows *The Scarecrow's Gang *Falcone Crime Family Vehicles *The Tumbler *Bruce Wayne's Rolls Royce *Bruce Wayne's Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 *Ra's Al Ghul's Train *League of Shadows' SWAT Van Technology *Microwave Emitter *Grapple Gun *Bat-Signal Weapons *Batarang *Batmine *Fear Toxin Locations *Gotham (State) **Gotham City ***The Palisades ****Wayne Manor ****The Batcave ***Midtown Gotham City ****Puccio's ***The Narrows ****Arkham Asylum ***Downtown Gotham City ****Wayne Enterprises *****Wayne Tower ****Gotham Opera House ****Gotham District Courthouse *Bhutan **Himalayas ***League of Shadows Hideout *Princeton University Events *Gotham Depression *Outbreak of Arkham Asylum and Monorail Battle Category:Films